


Mea Culpa

by a_quick_drink



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, merman au, merman!Webster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 17:30:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6667846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_quick_drink/pseuds/a_quick_drink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was only one thing David loved more than the ocean and that was the root of his current dilemma: how did he choose between the man he loved and who he really was?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mea Culpa

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Casey_Wolfe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casey_Wolfe/gifts).



> Inspired by this post: [[x](http://thedenofcaseywolfe.tumblr.com/post/143389330125/band-of-brothers-mer-aus)]
> 
>   
>    
>    
> 

There was only one thing David loved more than the ocean and that was the root of his current dilemma: how did he choose between the man he loved and who he really was?

He couldn't have both--oh no, society had assured him there was no place for someone like him--so he made the hardest decision of his life.

He chose the ocean.

Tugging off his shirt, David dried the tears that hadn't stopped since he'd taken that last look in the rearview mirror as he drove away.

_Home._

His leaving had nothing to do with their fight before he left, but maybe they wouldn't have had it out in the first place if he'd been truly happy. He simply couldn't explain that the ocean constantly called to him like a long distance call straight to his heart, beckoning him back to its embrace. It was in his veins, and he died a little more inside every day he ignored the call. 

The effect had been subtle at first, little more than lethargy easily explained away as not sleeping well, but eventually evolved into something that tore himself and their relationship apart. 

But he couldn't tell Joe his secret. 

The clouds parted then to reveal the full moon hanging low in the night sky, a bright white dot in the space where black sky blended into indigo waters. Its light capped a narrow strip of the gently rolling waves, an undulating path seemingly laid out just for him to follow. And, oh, how he wanted to.

Licking the salty mist from his lips, David closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. 

_Home._

Goosebumps rose on his bare skin as he dipped a toe into the cold water and shivered, the human half of him trying to warn him away. But he took another step, one after the other until the water reached his chest. Nothing would stop him now. Heat radiated along his sides, a welcome relief even as skin and muscle shifted and tore itself open to form gills.

He shivered again, this time from the delicious feeling of water flowing through his gills. Why had he given this up?

He loved Joe--always would--but he needed this if only to save himself. He needed to learn how to live again. 

Another step and the ocean swallowed him as legs melted into the graceful tail of a thresher shark. It took a minute to gain his bearings but shifting between forms was to merfolk as riding a bicycle was to humans--one never forgot how.

A few practice swishes later he propelled himself forward into the depths.

_Forgive me._

* * *

Joe stomped across the sandy beach, swearing out loud when his toe caught on a buried rock. He flailed, arms windmilling in a fruitless effort to prevent himself from falling face first into the sand. 

_Stupid sand. Stupid beach. Stupid ocean._

Joe hauled himself up and brushed off his shirt as he continued his trek. He still felt awful about their fight last night. It was no secret he had a temper and a mouth that seemed to have a mind of its own but that could never excuse the things he'd said. Unfortunately, he never remembered any of that until the sound of the door slamming behind David rattled sense back into him but it was too late by then.

David had gone off to wherever it was he went to when he moped, and Joe thought nothing of it until he woke in the middle of the night. Alone.

There was no sign of David anywhere in the apartment either. After several phone calls and messages went unanswered, he sent texts to their friends asking if David was with them. No luck there, and he was at a loss for what to do otherwise. All he could do was wait until morning.

Morning came and went, and with it Joe's calm. David hadn't come home and he hadn't crashed at any of their friends' places. Where the hell was he?

When there was no news by the time afternoon rolled around, Joe headed to the beach to look for him. 

A bright red spot caught Joe's attention. It was probably just some garbage that washed up, but it could also be the shirt David wore last night. 

He dropped to his knees, gut churning as he snatched up the soaked piece of clothing and opened it to reveal a cartoon shark smiling back at him with the word "Jawsome!" printed underneath. Not one known for spontaneous romantic gestures, he'd given David the shirt as a birthday gift after spotting it in the mall and knowing his shark crazy boyfriend had to have it.

_Stupid Web and his stupid sharks._

Clenching the shirt in a fist, Joe glanced around for another clue but there was nothing. Footprints were impossible to make out in the trampled sand, and the only witnesses to the secluded beach were the gulls shrieking overhead. David had been here but where was he now? Had he left? If he had, why was his shirt still here? Unless...

A flash of brown from behind a nearby outcrop of jagged rock stopped his train of thought. He leapt up, running as fast as his feet would carry him in the soft terrain and scrambling up the rock before he even realized what he was doing. By the time he got up and over, though, all he saw was a dark figure disappear beneath the foam.

"Web?" he called out. "Web!"

* * *

"Goddammit, Web, I know that's you. I know it is!"

David chewed at his lip as he peered out from the rock he'd taken cover behind. He shouldn't have come back but he couldn't push the guilt of running away from his mind. It was exactly the kind of thing they'd fought about and all he was doing was proving Joe's point that maybe it'd be better if they broke up.

But he didn't want that. He'd reasoned it was bound to happen eventually and being the first to leave would hurt less than having to hear it from Joe. He couldn't have both lives no matter what, not the way he wanted them.

His resolve crumbled a few hours later.

_What the hell was he doing?_

He had to return if only to apologize for his moment of cowardice. If he was so ready to walk away, then he would be the one to break up with Joe and that would be that. It was only right and the only way he'd ever be able to live with himself.

Seeing Joe again, though, made him question everything he thought he was so sure of. If he loved Joe as much as he thought he did, shouldn't he reveal his secret no matter the outcome? Maybe they'd still break up. Maybe they wouldn't. He'd been too selfish to even try.

Slipping into the water, David swam closer to shore and popped up behind a outcrop next to Joe, careful to keep his lower half hidden from view. He didn't want this to end before it even started.

"Joe, I--"

"What the hell, babe? You don't answer your phone, no note, nothing. Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" The harsh tone of Joe's words made David duck slightly, as though he were a puppy being scolded for chewing up the newspaper he'd been sent to retrieve. The frantic look in Joe's eyes said differently.

"I'm sorry, Joe. I didn't mean to--"

Joe huffed a sigh. "You got nothin' to be sorry for--it's me who should be the one apologizing." He tried moving closer to David but frowned when he found no way to bridge the gap between them. " _I'm_ sorry. I'm shit at this--" he gestured between them "--at...communicating." David couldn't help but snort, which earned him a glare. "You're lucky I can't reach you right now."

Chuckling, David used his hands to navigate the slippery rock holds as he moved toward Joe. "We both need to work on that," he said. His smile fell a moment later. "I haven't been honest with you."

Joe opened his mouth to speak but David held up a hand to stop him. When Joe's eyes widened, however, David's heart stuttered on a beat. Lost in the moment, he'd forgotten the webbing between his fingers and inadvertently exposed himself. _No, no, no._

"What the--"

David's mouth went dry. Head spinning, he shrank down until his chin touched the water, suddenly overwhelmed by shame. He was a freak. How did he ever think a human--Joe--would still want him like this?

"Wait, babe, don't go!" Joe called after him. "I know what you're probably thinkin' and you're wrong!"

Without being able to see him, it was the fear in Joe's voice that stopped David from turning tail and running again. "You sure about that?"

"Course I am! Now lemme see ya!"

Gulping, David pulled himself out of the water and settled on a ledge, his tail on full display save for the end of his oversized caudal fin. The leathery skin shimmered blue and silver in the sunlight. He'd always been proud of his mer-form but under Joe's gaze he suddenly felt self-conscious and exposed.

Joe gasped. "You're a shark."

"Not--not exactly," David corrected, "but...yeah." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Does that bother you?"

"Are you kidding?" Joe's eyes lit up. "My boyfriend's part shark. That is so awesome!" Joe reached for him but then hesitated, hand hovering only inches away from David's skin. "Is it okay if I...?"

Heat flooded David's cheeks and he nodded. No one had ever touched him in this form. It was beyond his imagination that anyone would want to and yet here he was with Joe caressing his flank, lips moving against his as he murmured how gorgeous David was. 

This was... He hadn't dared think this was a possibility. And he'd almost lost it forever. 

"I'm sorry I never told you."

Their eyes met again and Joe smiled at him. It was the smile he reserved only for David, warm and inviting like the afternoon sun--nothing like the crooked, mischievous smirk everyone else got to see. 

"I'll forgive you on one condition," Joe said, holding up a finger to illustrate his point. "Take me for a swim?"

**Author's Note:**

> [find me on tumblr](http://a-quick-drink.tumblr.com/post/143499556886/there-was-only-one-thing-david-loved-more-than)


End file.
